Popular Sheffield pub closed by the pandemic could become a Costa

Abbeydale Brewery closed the Devonshire Cat on Wellington Street in June due to the ‘devastating’ impact of lockdown - on top of high business rates and a long term drop in footfall in the city centre.

Under the terms of the lease the company must find a replacement occupier.

Operations director Toby Grattidge said they had spoken to four parties interested in continuing to run it as a pub.

But if that plan fell through, their property agent would ‘cast the net wider’ and had already spoken to Costa and Tesco.

Some 22 people were made redundant when the Devonshire Cat closed and two were taken on by the company.

Mr Grattidge said 20 had found jobs and they had ‘paid everyone’ and the dormant business was ready to take over.

He added: “It would be really nice to see it carry on as a pub. It would be sad if it wasn’t - but it’s the way of the world at the moment.”

The company had ploughed thousands into a revamp four years ago which gave it a boost. But the 2018 World Cup, during a hot summer, led to a 30 per cent drop in city centre footfall which never came back.

Business rates of £76,000-a-year then became a burden and also meant the firm missed out on a £25,000 government Covid hospitality grant.

Its permanent closure prompted an outpouring of tributes from drinkers.

Abbeydale avoided ‘significant losses’ during the pandemic by producing cans of its best-loved beer - and some luck.

The company has now sold more than 50,000 cans of Moonshine, expanded canning to its entire range of ‘flagship’ beers. Most were sold for home delivery.

Sales director Dan Baxter said they were lucky that a £75,000 canning line that had been on order for months arrived in April - and brewers were categorised in government guidance as ‘key workers’.

He added: “I had reservations about putting Moonshine, a cask ale, into cans. But the pandemic made us bite the bullet – and the sales speak for themselves. They stopped us making a significant loss. We could have furloughed everyone and thrown the beer away. But the guidance did not tell us to stop.

“We see can sales being a major part of our future, with them currently sitting at around 15 per cent of total output compared to around two per cent in 2019.

“The arrival of our own canning line in April has allowed us to produce more beer in this format.

“The future looks encouraging - deliveries have continued to increase, so much so that we have recruited new delivery drivers - with us supplying pubs direct as well as continuing our home delivery service for orders placed online.

“Our pub, The Rising Sun on Fulwood Road, is now back open seven days a week, as well as continuing to operate a takeaway service and acting as a collection point for our online shop, for those who are still preferring to stay at home.

"We aren’t going to stop pushing forwards and doing what we’re best at - making delicious beer for the people of Sheffield and beyond to enjoy. We’d really like to say how grateful we are to everyone who has supported us - by buying our cans online or from an independent retailer, or having a pint in the pub."

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